


Date Night

by cyberlowlife



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Boys In Love, College, Cuddling, Finals Week, M/M, andrew punches someone, date, hand holding, minor violence warning, movie theaters, stressed boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 22:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17088815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyberlowlife/pseuds/cyberlowlife
Summary: With finals week approaching fast, Neil is desperate to get some fresh air. So, he takes a sleep deprived Andrew to the movies.





	Date Night

Finals week had finally slammed the Foxes after months of focusing on Exy, and Neil was exhausted. He was tired of being cooped up in the dorm with Andrew, Nicky, and Kevin, having to watch Kevin and Nicky cram for their upcoming tests. It was suffocating, but Neil was barely passing his classes already, so he needed to do well on these finals. 

He only reached a breaking point once he had to hear Nicky whine about one of his classes for the tenth time that day. He stood and left the living room, making his way to Andrew’s room and leaning on the doorway. Andrew was a silhouette against the dark window, smoke trailing from his lips as he turned to see who had walked in. Neil’s decision was spur of the moment and purely motivated by the exhaustion and suffocation he was feeling in the dorm room. 

“We should go see a movie.” 

Neil was expecting the disgusted look on Andrew's face at the thought of doing something so mundane, especially something where they would be trapped in a room with strangers for 2 or so hours. He didn't expect Andrew to agree. Andrew shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly and tilted his head. “I hate movies.” was his only response, but there was a slight spark of curiosity in his eyes. 

“You hate being trapped in the dorm during finals even more,” Neil pointed out, quirking an eyebrow up at the smaller blonde man. He knew this was a fruitless task; Andrew avoided public spaces like the plague. “It'll be a good destressor before you end up beheading Nicky for his whining,” he added.

Andrew ground the butt of his cigarette against his dresser in response and shut the window. “I am not sure how you're expecting to get out without someone inviting themselves along.” Andrew said as he shrugged on his coat. Neil watched him and shrugged. “Everyone is holed up studying. We'll be fine.” he said before turning and leaving. He pulled on his own coat and grabbed Andrew's keys, tossing them over his shoulder. He assumed Andrew would catch them and knew he was right at the muffled jingle behind him. 

Kevin and Nicky barely looked up as they walked to the door, focused on their notes and listening to their own music. Neil didn't bother with a goodbye, instead opening the door and slipping out into the hall. It was silent and empty, for which Neil was grateful for. He led the way out of the building and down to Andrew’s car, turning to watch as the smaller man walked to the driver's side. Neil hadn’t noticed in the dim light of their dorm, but Andrew was beginning to sport some prominent dark circles under his eyes. He knew better than to prod Andrew about his well being, instead climbing in the car. 

“We can decide on a movie when we get there,” Neil said when Andrew didn't start the car. At that, Andrew turned the key in the ignition and shot out of the parking lot to the nearest movie theater. The ride was silent with only the quiet music from the radio creating any noise. Neil didn’t have anything to say, and Andrew was never one to initiate a conversation. Thankfully, the ride was short enough to save Neil from dozing off in the comfortable silence. 

Neil had no idea what movies were out at the moment, let alone the plot of any of them. As they parked the car in the lot and headed to the door, Neil and Andrew skimmed the movie posters on display, looking for the most interesting one. “Any of these look good to you?” he asked, looking down at Andrew and watching as his eyes darted from one poster to the next. Wordlessly, he tapped one and grabbed Neil's hand to lead him inside. 

The theater was fairly empty, so they got to the front of the line fairly quickly. Neil bought the tickets and handed Andrew his before looking around. “Popcorn?” he asked and, at Andrew's noncommittal shrug, headed to the concession stand. He fished for his wallet as he headed up there but, in the short span of time it took for him to get it out, Andrew had ordered a couple's combo and was starting towards their designated theater with their drinks and popcorn. Neil hurried to catch up with him and bumped their shoulders together ever so slightly. “Thanks.” 

It was small bouts of humanity like this that helped Neil see under Andrew's harsh exterior. The longer they were together, the more cracks seemed to appear in the armor, and Neil counted everything as a small victory. They sat in the dead middle of the rows and Neil took the popcorn to set on his lap, getting comfortable in the seat before focusing on the beginning previews.

He didn't register that Andrew had taken his hand until their fingers were interlocked. He turned with his eyebrows raised in surprise, but Andrew held a finger to his lips.

“If you say anything about it, I'll break every bone in your hand,” he said, tapping his fingers against Neil’s knuckles before turning to look at him. Neil saw something behind his calm stare, but he couldn't quite place it. “We have to talk about us at some point, Andrew,” he said. Andrew merely squeezed his hand in warning and turned back to look at the screen again. “Pay attention. You aren't supposed to talk in movie theaters,” Andrew whispered as he put his feet on top of the seat on front of them. Neil was content to shut his mouth for a while. He had all the time in the world to pester Andrew.

-

The movie ended up being rather slow and uneventful in both of the men's opinions, but they still sat through it. At the halfway point, Neil was struggling to stay awake. He still felt unsafe in open areas like this, even with Andrew right beside him. He was sure he'd begun to doze off with his eyes open when something heavy rested against his shoulder suddenly. 

Neil jolted awake and blinked blearily at Andrew in confusion. A moment later, it clicked. The blonde had fallen asleep, his head against Neil’s shoulder. That seemed to be all the incentive Neil's body needed, because he was asleep moments later. 

-

Neil had figured he'd wake up when the lights came on, or when the movie got too loud, but he didn't. Exhaustion seemed to have finally taken over, because he and Andrew slept through all of it. 

The only thing that woke him was a suddenly violent yanking on his arm. In an instant, he was wide awake, looking around for the threat and only finding Andrew rubbing his eyes with the hand not gripping Neil's and a form crumpled on the ground in front of them. 

“Shit, Andrew-” Neil grunted and let go of Andrew's hand so he could slide to the floor beside the teenage boy. “Hey, are you alright?” Neil was careful in helping the kid into a sitting position, raking his gaze for any blood. “Sorry about that. He uh… doesn't like being woken up. Anything feel broken?” Neil asked as he stood and helped the guy to his feet. At a headshake, Neil nodded and stepped aside so Andrew could get to his feet.

“Sorry, again.” he said. He attempted to nudge Andrew to get him to apologize, but Andrew gave him a blank stare in return. Neil sighed heavily and helped the kid out of the theater. “Anything I can do? Nothing seems broken but you might be sporting a black eye soon enough.” he said. The kid shrugged nervously. “It's okay. I've handled worse” he said.

Neil nodded and gave him an awkward pat on the back before stepping back. “Alright. Again, I'm sorry about that,” he said awkwardly. He fell into step beside Andrew, who had stopped to throw away their trash. He didn't comment on the punch, it wasn't anything new. Andrew still looked exhausted when Neil slanted a look in his direction, but neither man spoke as they walked out to the car. Andrew, surprisingly, was the first to break the silence when they finally hit the road.

“We should make that a weekly thing,” he stated simply.

Neil could barely hide his lovestruck grin. “Yeah, maybe we should.”


End file.
